Five UNC Hussman students accept 2022 Multicultural Advertising Intern Program fellowships
by Barbara Wiedemann
There is some headway to be made in making advertising and public relations as a profession reflective of the diversity of our nation. In 2022, five UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media students will move that needle forward with their presence.
It’s all thanks to a fellowship program known as the Multicultural Advertising Intern Program (MAIP) which UNC Hussman students have been enthusiastically participating in for over two decades, according to Career Services Director Jay Eubank.
The NYC-based MAIP program is crafted to provide undergraduate advertising, public relations and strategic communication students an opportunity to launch their careers with tangible, transferable skill sets in hand thanks to a virtual spring training series followed by summer internships, workshops and seminars. Long-term networking opportunities are baked into the experience.
Making headway with MAIP
Established in 1917, the 4A’s (American Association of Advertising Agencies) created a Foundation 80 years later with the mission of “galvanizing the industry around improving the level of diversity within advertising and media agencies.”
The 4A’s Foundation Multicultural Advertising Intern Program (MAIP) is one way the organization strives to accomplish this mission by “providing and showcasing the advertising industry with the best talent through world-class development opportunities.” The MAIP network is now more than 3,500 professionals strong.
Enter five UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media undergraduates: Anwar Boutayba ’23, Akhilaa Lakshminathan ’24, Olivia Rojas ’23, Gabby Torres ’23 and Henrry Vivar-Gomez ’23. The advertising/public relations students from Chapel Hill have accepted 2022 MAIP Fellowships which will combine real-world experience, training and development, and networking opportunities within the industry.
Off to Atlanta, New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles in 2022
Aspiring art director Anwar Boutayba will intern with Trade School—a Guided By Good company with roots in 22Squared.
“MAIP has been on my vision board for two years now,” said Boutayba. “With MAIP and my internship at Trade School in Atlanta this summer, I can start making headway in my career while forging lifelong connections.”
Akhilaa Lakshminathan’s summer MAIP experience takes her to Sony Music Entertainment as an international marketing intern, a great fit for the young singer, songwriter, producer and musician. Currently interning with musical artist Madame Gandhi’s team, Lakshminathan has already reached out to a fellow “MAIPer” from the University of Georgia, a future colleague at Sony Music in New York City this summer.
Olivia Rojas and Gabby Torres will have the opportunity to work with marketing agency Digitas in the Chicago office as a data and analytics intern (Rojas); and the NYC office as a project management intern (Torres). Rojas is currently studying abroad in Paris. Torres, who leads virtual tours and helps coordinate school events as a Hussman School Ambassador, says she’s excited to learn more about the advertising industry in her discipline and make connections to further her network via MAIP.
Henrry Vivar-Gomez heads to Los Angeles as an account management intern for MullenLowe.
“Felicidades/Congratulations to my fellow Tarheel MAIPers this year,” said Vivar-Gomez, a resident advisor on campus at Carolina.
A wonderful chain reaction
UNC Hussman senior Tran Nguyen was a MAIP fellow in 2021.
“This time last year, I had no idea how much MAIP would change my life,” she said recently. “I can’t wait to see where it will take these ridiculously deserving and talented individuals.”
Her MAIP fellowship paired Nguyen with TBWA\WorldHealth in NYC.
“After an incredible summer on a well-integrated, fast-paced team, I was given the opportunity to stay on in a part-time capacity as a project coordinator,” says Nguyen about her busy senior year.
Nguyen also added peer mentorship to her to-do list. She guided five of the seven UNC Hussman students who received 2022 MAIP fellowship offers over the course of a rigorous application process (seniors Francis Amponsah and Ken Davis decided to pursue other opportunities).
“Jaein Yoon [a master’s student at the school] was an incredible mentor and resource to me through the MAIP process,” Nguyen remembered. “I found out about the fellowship through Jay Eubank, and he connected me with Jaein, who had been a MAIP fellow the year before. She was able to give me great advice not just on the application but on the ad industry as a whole.”
She added, “Jaein also set a great example of what it means to pay it forward and be a great mentor. Those before her helped her, then she did the same for me, and now I got to do the same for the next generation. It’s a truly wonderful chain reaction.”